Tube and flap



E. FETTER TUBE AND FLAP Jdne 9, 1925.

Filed Aug, 18, 1924 L... M N 4 M Patented June 9, 1925.

STATES FATE EDWARD FETTER', or DAIiT-IMQRE; MKRYLKNDZ TUBE AND FLAP."

Application filed August is, 19524. seen; n6. 72.53%;

To all whom it may concern:

Be it' known that I, EDWARD FETTDR,.:1 citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing in the city of Baltimore, State of Maryland, haveinventechcertai'n newand useful Improvements in Tubes and Flaps, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The difficulties incident to placingthe flap in mounting pneumatictires, particularly with the clincher rim and ininstance's when the flaphas become worn and more or less distorted and wrinkled, are wellunderstood. While these difficulties are greater with the clincher rim,which is or dlnarily not collaps1ble,so that the casing must bestretched over the rim, they are also present and ofconsiderableimportance 1n mounting straight side" tires, in whichoperation the rim is collapsed, so that the tire goes on with much lessdifficult'y However, when the rim is expanded ins de the tirepreparatory to locking, there is some difficulty incident to thelongitudinal motion or sliding'of' the strip relatively to" the rim orvice ver'sa. V

While the flap isin some'instances omit;

ted, it is of particular importance with" the clincher rim with whichitis most difiicult to handle on account of the tendency of the tirebeads which fit inside the rim to rock and pinch the inner tube.

It is also of interest in the presentinstance that even thoughtheinSei't'iOIi of the flap may involve no unusual difficulty, this isin accordance with the present practice a separate operation followingthe insertion of the tube, and that by applicants inrprovement it ismade possible to insert the tube and flap simultaneously, therebydispensing with an operation which hasbeeh' considered essential to themounting of a" pneumatlc tire. V p The improved structure conslstsf'ln1nner tube for automobile tires provided with a series of transversestraps or loops extending across the inner surface opposite the treadand spaced. apart inthe direction of the length or long circumference ofthe tube, the straps being secured" to the tube at the ends and freefrom the tube throughout the entire intermediate portion which is of awidth equal to the width of the flap.

The straps may be of rubber or rubber and fabric or of fabric and othersuitable material, and are preferably secured to the tube byvulcanizing, the straps being placed int-he mo ufwini are atewater-sateevulcanized iii the regiilari coiirse of Ilia/flu? .eteuue, asuitable ten-adhesive member be ing placedon the ruteit'tween the.e iid'slof the strapfto rev nt the adhereneef f the. central portionof theStrap to thetiibi The straps or loops thus formedflserve" means forsecuring the flap t'o the" tube,

In mean-ting the fla'pis threaded tllIdllgl-I the loo s; the" tubesbeing" partially inflated, and thetiibe and thii's asse ibledareplac'edin the-easing much mar-fie coiivehiently quickly, than theybe; inserted si 'arateiybut' almost as'e 'eny nd uielrlyas either thetube or the flap" a1 could be placed in-the: casing; H straps}, however,not only serve iu uiei.cap ity combining: the insertion of the tub'aiitl nap. in a; single operation, but, they se ve to hold the flap inposition and" preve t its displac'eiii'ent during the mounting". of thij casing onflthe rim,-Ia1id at all times'prior tqth e'repla ementthet-ire'. It s" lso of interest that the flap; which covers on the:inner per'iph'e'ral' f'ace of the need not be removed from" the time inevery i ilength of the tube;

Figure 2 is a transverse section be a rim, and a casing containing atu uflap made and assembled in aceorda'ncewith" my invention.

Ffttre 3 is a side elevation] of ai' tub provided with straps andass-antler witl flap, a fragment of the casing and rim ing shown insection, and a fragment of felly and spoke in elevation, taken on theline 3, 30f Figure 2. Referring to the drawings by numerals, each ofwhich is used to indicate the same or similar parts in the differentfigures, the

inner tube 1 illustrated, may be of the usual an (raise? Figur 1 is aoross-section th'rhugh tube and strap-[taken at right angles "to the andcommon type used as a flexible air cham- I .the tube wall by vulcanizingor in any pre- I spliced together at the ends ferred way, theintermediate portion 6 of the strap being free and separate from thewall of the tube. V Y

As pointedout in the generalstatement of the invention, the straps maybe of rubber or fabric or fabric and rubber, or any suitable andavailable material, and they may be most conveniently afiixed to thetube byplacing them in themolds'and vnlcaniz-- ing them .to the tubewhen the tubing is vulca-nized'in the regular process of manufacture'andbefore it is cut into lengths and to make a ring tube as ordinarilyused. g

The flap 7 may be of the regular type generally employed to protect theinner surface of the tube from the tire beads and rim,

one frequent source of failure of tubes 'beingdue to therocking of thebeads, which in the absence of a suitable flap causes the tube to creaseand enter between the edges of the bead and the rim, being pinched andbrokenin this way. I

The flap 7 may in the present instance be composed of rubber or fabricand rubber, or any available material.

In mounting the tire or assembling the tube casing and flap on the rim,the tube being partially inflated, the flap, which has its ends freeinstead of being joined to form a ring as the flap is formed in someinstances at the present time, is threaded through the loops 4 betweenthe loops and the inner peripheral face 3 of the tube, and is laidsmoothly against the tube in this way, the ends of the flap beingoverlapped within the casing. The casing 8 with the tube and flaptherein is then passed over the rim 9 and the beads 10 of the casing areseated in the grooves 11 formed within the curved edges 12 of the rim,and the parts being suitably arranged, the tube is then inflated, givingthe tire thenec'essary internal pressure to resist and support the load.

By assembling the tube and flap in this way, Inotonly save the separateoperation of inserting the flap but facilitate placing of the latter,avoiding displacement and distortion of the flap when the tire is passedover the rim, and by preventing displacement of the flap, I not onlyfacilitate the mounting of the tire, but prevent injury to the tuberesulting from the displacement of the flap.

I have thus described specifically and in detail an improved inner tubein accordance with my invention and the combination of such a tubewith aflap and casing combined in accordance with the preferred form of myinvention, the description being specific and in detail in order thatthe nature and operation of the invention may be clearly understood;-however, the specific terms herein are used descriptively ratherthanin a limiting sense, the scope of the invention being defined in theclaims.

\Vhat I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. An inner tubefor pneumatic tires having transverse straps secured to the tube formingloops extending across the inner peripheral face of the tube adapted toreceive and hold a flap.

2. The combination with an inner tube for pneumatic tires of aprotective flap and means other than the casing and rim for detachablysecuring the same to the tube and covering its inner peripheral face.

3. The combination with 'an inner tube for pneumatic tires of aprotective flap se cured to the tube and covering' 'its inner peripheralface by a plurality of transverse straps'spanning the flap and securedat each end to the walls of the tube. I

.4. An inner tube for pneumatic tires having transverse straps extendingacross the tube from side to side in the direction of the short diameterof thetube the straps forming'loops to receive and hold a protectingflap.

The combination with an inner tube for pneumatic tires of a protectivestrip of rubber, and means detachably securin the same to the innerperipheral face or the tube.

Signed by me at Baltimore, this 15 day of August, 1924.

EDWARD FETTE R Witnesses EDVVIN F. SAMUELs, E. l/VnrrMnYnn.

